Colorado Resident Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Assault With A Tomahawk Hatchet

LAS VEGAS – A Colorado man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for using a Tomahawk hatchet to attack and cause serious injury to a person at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in 2018.

According to court documents, on September 7, 2018, Christopher Dewey Booker, 48, repeatedly struck and bludgeoned a person using a Tomahawk hatchet. The victim sustained at least 22 injuries including fractures, lacerations, partial detachment of his left hand, and partial facial paralysis. These injuries resulted in protracted loss and impairment of the victim’s jaw and permanent impairment of the victim’s left hand.

In May 2023, a federal grand jury indicted Booker; and in April 2024, Booker pleaded guilty to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In addition to imprisonment, United States District Judge James C. Mahan sentenced Booker to three years of supervised release.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the National Park Service. Assistant United States Attorney Mina Chang prosecuted the case.

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